AIFF passes National Sports Governance Act and postpones decision on ISL’s commercial partner

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Saturday cleared the passage of the National Sports Governance Act but postponed a decision on the contentious issue of choosing a new commercial partner for the Indian Super League at its special general meeting here.

The meeting, which was chaired by AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey, was attended by 19 members of the executive committee, 32 representatives of member associations, along with representatives of FIFA and AFC. The AIFF EC members have no voting rights and cannot represent any affiliated association.

«The AIFF held its special general body meeting to deliberate on the adoption of the National Sports Governance Act, 2025 (NSGA). During the meeting, the general body unanimously approved the approval of the NSGA by the AIFF,» the federation said in a statement.

Subrata Dutta, president of the Indian Football Association, the state unit of West Bengal, said the AIFF Constitution will now be brought into line with the National Sports Governance Act 2025.

“The AIFF Constitution will now be brought into line with the National Sports Governance Act (NSGA) as the Supreme Court has said that the previously tabled Constitution will no longer be applicable once the NSGA is implemented,” Dutta, who attended the SGBM, told PTI.

«The new framework under the NSG Act will then become applicable. Accordingly, the entire Constitution will be redrafted in accordance with the new law. We expect the revised Constitution to be finalized by June 30.»

As for the new commercial partner for the ISL, London-based Genius Sports had emerged as the highest bidder in March, promising an annual commitment of Rs 2,129 crore for the next 15+5 years, starting from the 2026-27 season.

But the ISL clubs have proposed a different model. They want to keep 90% of the “economic interest in the competition structure” and AIFF the rest. The clubs also want the highest bidders (Genius Sports) to remain solely as the league’s data and technology partner.

«The Federation further discussed the Master Rights Agreement (MRA), for which it has received bids from two entities. In this regard, the General Board has unanimously approved granting the Executive Committee the power to discuss and deliberate on the MRA negotiations,» the AIFF statement said.

According to Dutta, a final decision on the commercial partner will have to be taken again by the general body.

«The Genius Sports issue has been referred to the Executive Committee along with the letters submitted by the clubs. The Executive Committee will deliberate on the issue and then submit it to the general body. If approved there, the issue will be implemented at the earliest,» said Dutta, who was earlier senior vice-president of the AIFF.

Former AIFF president Praful Patel, who attended the meeting as a representative of the Western India Football Association, proposed reducing the term of the agreement with ISL’s potential commercial partner from 20 years to five years.

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Dutta also opined that Article 25.3 (c) and (d) of the AIFF Constitution, which prohibit persons from holding simultaneous dual posts in the AIFF and state associations, will now not apply.

«Under clauses 25.3(c) and (d) of the earlier Constitution, a person holding office in a state association could not simultaneously hold office in AIFF and vice versa. But since the Supreme Court-imposed Constitution is no longer applicable, those provisions will also be set aside,» he said.

The SGM also discussed the draft statutes for the member associations and they were given 15 days to respond with their final suggestions.

Published on May 23, 2026